Ten thousand dollars is a pretty nice payday, but not if you're Kelenna Azubuike asking to recoup on a favor from mega-wealthy former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony.
After being traded from the Warriors to the New York Knicks in a sign-and-trade for All-Star forward David Lee in 2010, Azubuike, now a Warriors broadcaster for NBC Sports Bay Area, found himself with a new No. 7 jersey.
While Azubuike was recovering from a knee injury in Feb. 2011, the Knicks made the massive deal to acquire Anthony and a host of players from the Denver Nuggets.
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“The general manager sits down with me and says ‘Carmelo wants your number,’” Azubuike said on the Warriors Insider Podcast with Logan Murdock and Kerith Burke. “And I’m like, ‘It’s like that, like can I get something for it?’”
Anthony’s salary for the 2010-11 season was $17,149,243, per Spotrac, so Azubuike explained that he was expecting a hefty exchange for his number.
“So I’m thinking I’m getting at least, at least $500,000,” Azubuike said. “So I get a check for $10,000.”
The Knicks waived Azubuike just six days after the blockbuster trade for Melo, so the team clearly wasn’t going to try and stand up for him getting a higher dollar amount for the rights to the number.
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Azubuike is in the midst of his first season as the Warriors' TV color analyst, replacing longtime broadcaster Jim Barnett alongside play-by-play announcer Bob Fitzgerald.
Check out the entirety of Azubuike on the Warriors Insider Podcast here.